Oklahoma City family fun feels like it comes to life in fall.
Can you smell the pumpkin spice yet? I'm just starting to, over slow cookers of soup, butternut squash and hominy. Apple cider, #PSL ads and all things pumpkin spice and kettle corn go along with hayrides, leaf piles and trick-or-treating. Halloween already feels close by and from there, it's a quick slide into Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Autumn traditions bring so many fun activities to families, it's hard to know sometimes just where to spend your time and money.
I am continually amazed when I look at MetroFamily's website this time of year. The content has transitioned from all-things summer to list upon list of fall things to do. Our editors offer a cornucopia of ideas, local happenings and ways to get out and cultivate family time.
You can check out the homepage yourself for all that variety but here are five quick reference lists for fall fun:
- 10 Ways to Celebrate the Arrival of Autumn: This Friday is the first day of fall and there are so many ways you can celebrate. Here are 10 ideas just to get you started, including the very traditional like the Harvest Festival in Norman and broader ideas like Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live. I'm really conflicted on where we'll be this Saturday because there's so much we could go and do. If Sunday is your free day to get out of the house, come see us at the Oklahoma State Fair's Sunday Funday!
- 50 Things to Do This Fall for Under $5: The season is changing but your budget doesn't have to with this cool list. There are more free/inexpensive things to do in this town with a themed twist to keep your children on the move than I would have ever thought. Find it here.
Pumpkin Patches list: If you've been to a grocery store in the past week with your children, it's likely they pointed out the arrival of carving pumpkins. I keep steering the cart around that section and quelling small voices. They really just want to take one home every single time. I love carving jack o'lanterns but I'd like the experience to be more memorable than that time we chunked pumpkins into the shopping cart during our usual Saturday night grocery run. I'd rather back it up to Saturday afternoon and make a day of it at a local pumpkin patch. Details are often kind of sketchy on hours of operation and what's nearby but here's a list well-researched list of local ones you can count on.
- Guide to Family-Friendly Fall Festivals: Festivals can be a fun way to see more than one seasonal attraction at a time. Knowing if a fall festival is really family-friendly, i.e. not centered around beer, at this time of year can be kind of a toss-up but this list sorts out what's really child-appropriate in and around OKC.
- Fall Break Camps and Classes: Fall break just doesn't stand out to me like spring break does and planning for it feels like an afterthought. There are a lot of crafts, enrichment opportunities and places to spend a day if you're looking for something to fill those days. Click here for the list.
Looking for even more fall fun? Find it here with MetroFamily's Fall Fun Guide!
A little planning goes a long way. Enjoy the season of scarves, boots and seasonal lattés.
Happy autumn!